Columbian Iron Works

In the Matter of COLUMBIAN IRON WORKS and UNITED STEELwoRKERs OF AMERICA Case No. R-5753.-Decided September 2, 194.3 Messrs. T. Pope Shepherd and Robert C. Hunt, of Chattanooga, Tenn., for the Company. Messrs. 0. S. Banter, M. T. Elder, and Wm. Frazier, of Chatta- nooga, Tenn., for the Steelworkers. Messrs. H. G. B. King and W. R. Barney, of Chattanooga, Tenn., for the I. A. M. Mr. W. G. Kissinger, of Chattanooga, Tenn., for the Moulders. Mr. J. A. Lipscomb, of Bessemer, Ala., and Mr. H. N. Brown, of Chattanooga, Tenn., for the Pattern Makers. . Miss Muriel J. Levor, of counsel to the Board. DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTIONS STATEMENT OF THE CASE Upon amended petition duly filed by United Steelworkers of Amer- ica, herein called the Steelworkers, alleging that a question affecting commerce had arisen concerning the representation of employees of Columbian Iron Works, Chattanooga, Tennessee, herein called the Company, the National Labor Relations Board provided for an ap- propriate hearing upon due notice before T. Lowry Whittaker, Trial Examiner. Said hearing was held at Chattanooga, Tennessee, on July 23, 1943. The Company, the Steelworkers, Success Lodge No. 56, International Association of Machinists, herein called the I. A. M., International Moulders and Foundry Workers Union of North Amer- ica, herein called the Moulders, and Pattern Makers League of North America, and Pattern Makers Association of Chattanooga, Tennes- see, herein collectively called the Pattern Makers, appeared, par- ticipated, and were afforded full opportunity to be heard, to examine and cross-examine witnesses, and - to introduce evidence hearing on the issues. The Trial Examiner's rulings made at the hearing are free from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed. 52 N. L. R. B., No. 54. 370 COLUMBIAN IRON WORKS 371 The I. A. M. made a motion at the hearing to dismiss the petition insofar as it relates to employees of certain specified departments on the ground that the I. A. M. has a presently subsisting contract with the Company covering them. Ruling was reserved to the Board. The motion is hereby denied for reasons hereinafter set forth. The Moulders also moved to dismiss the petition on the ground that evidence of representation had not been adduced in the unit sought by the Moulders. The motion is hereby denied for reasons hereinafter set forth. The Pattern Makers also moved at the hearing to dismiss the peti- tion as to the Company's pattern makers. Ruling was reserved to the Board. However, since the petition was amended at the hearing to exclude pattern makers, a ruling on the motion is unnecessary. All parties were afforded opportunity to file briefs with the Board. Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following : FINDINGS OF FACT 1. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY Columbian Iron Works, a Tennessee corporation with its principal office and place of business at Chattanooga, Tennessee, is engaged in the general brass and foundry business. It is a wholly owned sub- sidiary of the Mueller Co. of Decatur, Illinois. The Company oper- ates two plants at Chattanooga; we are solely concerned in this pro- ceeding with the one which the Company denominates the No. 1 Plant. The raw materials used by the Company during the past year con- sisted principally of pig iron, scrap iron, brass, bronze; and other materials, valued at more th to $200,000, of which 50 percent was shipped from 'points outside the State of Tennessee. The finished products manufactured by the Company during the same period at its No. 1 Plant consisted of cast valves, fire hydrants, sluice gates, and other casting products used in connection with water dams and sewer- age works, valued at more than $1,000,000, of which approximately 80 percent was shipped to points outside the State of Tennessee. For the purposes of this proceeding, the Company concedes- that it is engaged in commerce within the meaning of the National Labor Relations Act. II. THE ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED United Steelworkers-of America is a labor organization affiliated with the Congress of Industrial Organizations, admitting to member- ship employees of the Company. Success Lodge No. 56, International Association of Machinists, is a labor organization admitting to membership employees of the Company. 549875-44-vol 52-25 372 DIECISNONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD International Moulders and Foundry Workers Union of North America is a labor organization affiliated with the American Federa- tion of Labor, admitting to membership employees of the Company. Pattern Makers Association of Chattanooga, Tennessee, and the Pattern Makers League of North America affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, of which the former is an affiliate, are labor organizations admitting to membership employees of the Company. III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION By letter to the Company dated June 21, 1943, the Steelworkers asserted its claim to represent a majority of the Company's employees and requested a conference for collective bargaining purposes. The Company stated that it had a contract with the I. A. M. and it refused to recognize the Steelworkers as bargaining representative of its employees unless and until it is certified as such by the Board. The contract to which the Company thus adverted was executed. April 29, and succeeded a previous agreement executed April 27, 1942, which had just expired. Both these agreements recognize the I. A. M. as the "bargaining agency" for employees in the machine shop, assembly room, and machine repair maintenance (departments 11, 60, and 70). It is the contract of April 1943, which the I. A. M. claims precludes an investigation of representatives among the employees covered by it and on which it predicates its motion to dismiss the petition. The unit as to which the I. A. M. desires the dismissal of the petition is composed of skilled and semi-skilled machinists and machine oper- ators and some toolroom men, assembly men, a trucker, and a stock clerk, and from it are excluded numerous categories of semi-skilled employees. It has been our policy to hold inappropriate for collective bargaining purposes 1 such a heterogeneous and illogical group and we are of the opinion that a contract, the coverage of which is not coextensive with a possible appropriate bargaining unit, should not be a bar to an investigation of representatives? Moreover, the extent of the coverage of the I. A. M.'s contract is delimited by a considera- tion, which we have held, the Act does not permit,3 viz, distinctions of color 4 Accordingly, we find that the contract between the I. A. M. and the Company is no bar to a present determination of representatives. I Matter of ITE Circuit Breaker Company, 51 N. L R B 1087 2 See Matter of Kinnear Manufacturing Company, 4 N L R B. 773. 8 Matter o f Crescent Bed Company, Inc, 29 N L R B. 34 ' An I. A. M. witness testified that colored workers are not eligible to membership thei ein. COLUMBIAN IRON WORKS 373 A statement of the Trial Examiner read into evidence at the hear- ing indicates that the Steelworkers, the I. A. M.,5 the Moulders, and the Pattern Makers each, represents a substantial number of employees in the unit each claims to be appropriates We find that a question affecting commerce has arisen concerning the representation of employees of the Company within the meaning of Section 9 (c) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act. IV. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT ; THE DETERMINATION OF REPRESENTATIVES The C. I. 0. claims as appropriate for collective bargaining a single industrial unit excluding guards, office, clerical and supervisory em-_ ployees, pattern makers, and,employees of the engineering department and the cafeteria. The I. A. M. claims as appropriate a unit coexten- sive with the coverage of its contract, hereinbefore discussed. The Moulders contends that a unit composed of the hand molders, hand core makers, and their apprentices, is appropriate. The Pattern Makers desires to be certified as sole bargaining representative, or in default of certification, that the Board direct an election with only the Pattern Makers on the ballot in a unit composed solely of pattern makers and apprentices. The Company is in accord with the respec- tive positions of the I. A. M., the Moulders, and the Pattern Makers. However, it also regards a residual unit as appropriate, and at the hearing the Company offered to recognize the C. I. 0. as exclusive bargaining agent for such a unit. Thus, conflicts have arisen con- cerning both the appropriateness of craft units, as such, and what should be their composition. Machinists unit: Historically, machinists have been an identifiable craft and since those employed by the Company have bargained on a craft basis for a considerable period of time, we find that they may properly constitute a separate bargaining unit or function with equal effectiveness as a part of an industrial unit. Although the designations submitted by the I A. M. indicated that the I A M was affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, we take notice of the fact that the 1. A M has withdrawn from the American Federation of Labor. g The Trial Examiner reported that the Steelworkers submitted 193 designations, of which 167 , bearing apparently genuine original signatures , correspond with names on the Company's pay roll of June 15, 1943, which contains 281 names The Trial Examiner also reported that the I A M. submitted 61 designations bearing apparently genuine original signatures and 22 dues records which together contain 69 names which correspond with names on the aforesaid pay roll , which contained 142 names min the 3 departments in which the I. A. M. claims to represent employees In addition , the Trial Examiner reported that the Moulders submitted 13 designations bearing apparently genuine original signatures which correspond with names on the afore-, said pay roll. The Pattern Makers, the Trial Examiner reported , submitted a petition containing 6 signatures which correspond with names on the above pay roll, containing 6 names in the unit claimed by the Pattern Makers. 374 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATION-IS BOARD We have previously found' that the unit claimed as appropriate by the I. A. M. and as covered by its contract was composed of a hetero- geneous and illogical group of job classifications unsuitable for col- lective bargaining. However, a unit consisting, substantially, of the skilled and semiskilled employees of the machine shop and machine repair maintenance, and excluding employees of the assembly room whose functions and skills are dissimilar, conforms to the required criteria of appropriateness. There is a further controversy over group leaders, who, the C. I. 0. asserts and the I. A. M. denies, should be excluded from the proposed unit. Group leaders devote approximately 50 percent of their time to instructing, about 5 percent to supervising, and the remainder to checking with the foremen and laying out new jobs. They appear to have the power to recommend hire and discharge. We shall exclude them from the unit as supervisory employees. Fowndry and core room employees: Molders and core makers have long been recognized as an identifiable craft and they have bargained historically on a craft basis. In our opinion they constitute a suffi- ciently well defined occupational group so that they may properly comprise a separate bargaining unit or function with equal effective- ness as part of an industrial unit. The unit sought by the Moulders consists of slightly more than a dozen hand molders and hand core makers and apprentices employed in the foundries and the core room. The greater number of the Com- pany's molders and core makers perform their work with the aid of specially devised machinery. Although machine molding and core making does not require as great skill as does hand work, it appears that a number of workers employed by the Company at machine work formerly did hand work when employed by other companies. It also appears that the apprentices, whom the Moulders desires in the unit, often have no great degree of skill. The hand workers are employed in more than one department and to single them out to form a unit would cut across both departmental and craft lines. The hand workers employed by the Company are white while those employees of the foundries and core room whom the Moulders seeks to exclude are colored. As hereinbefore stated, the Act does not permit distinctions based on color.8 Accordingly, we find that a molders' unit should be composed, substantially, of all molders, core makers and bumpers of the iron and brass foundries and the core room. Pattern Makers: The pattern makers constitute a highly skilled craft which can function effectively as a separate unit. Since they are 4 See Section III, supra. sMatter of Crescent Bed Company, Inc., 29 N. L. R. B. 34; see also Matter of Georgia Power Company, 32 N. L. R. B. 692. COLUMBIAN IRON WORKS 375 not claimed by the Steelworkers, we are of the opinion that in the interest of avoiding further proceedings 0 the pattern makers may properly be given the opportunity to elect whether or not they desire to be represented by the Pattern Makers for the purposes of collective bargaining. Accordingly, we find that all pattern makers and pattern makers' apprentices employed at the Company's No. 1 Plant, constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining within the mean- ing of Section 9 (b) of the Act. There is no controversy concerning the composition of the residual unit. With respect to the machinists and foundry department em- ployees, we shall make no final determination of the appropriate unit, or units, at this time. In this situation, we shall permit the scope of the bargaining unit, or units, to be determined in part by the results of separate elections. In accordance with our finding that these employees may function either as a separate unit or as part of a single industrial unit, we shall direct that the question concerning representa- tion which has arisen be resolved by separate elections by secret ballot among the employees in the groups described below who were employed during the pay-roll period immediately preceding the date of our Direction of Elections, subject to the limitations and additions set forth therein 10 Group 1: All machine operators, tool room employees, tool room servicemen, radial drill press helper, alternate crane operator and helper on big machines, power cutoff sawman, machinists, and repairmen, in the machine shop and maintenance department of the Company's Plant No. 1, Chattanooga, Tennessee, excluding group leaders, foremen, and any other supervisory -employees with authority to hire, promote, discharge, discipline, or otherwise effect changes in the status of em- ployees, or effectively recommend such action. Group 2: All floor molders and apprentices, core makers and ap- prentices, floor molders helpers, tabor molders and squeezer molders, and their helpers, unit molders, unit facing men, unit sand muller operators, unit finishers, unit helpers, strip plate molders, core blowers, core bumper operators, core room sand muller operators in the iron foundry, brass foundry, and core room departments of the Company's Plant No. 1, Chattanooga, Tennessee, excluding group leaders, fore- men, and any other supervisory employees with authority to hire, 0 fatter of Western Freight Handlers, Inc., 49 N. L R. B. 66. 10 The Steelworkers, the I. A. M., the Moulders, and the Pattern Makers requested that they appear on the ballot as United Steelworkers of America (C. I. 0.), Success Lodge No. 56, International Association of Machinists, Chattanooga, Tenn., International Moulders and Foundry Workers Union of North America, affiliated with the A F. of L., and Pattern Makers League of North America, affiliated with the A. F. of L., respectively. The requests are hereby granted. r 376 DECISQONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD promote, discharge, discipline, or otherwise effect changes in the status of employees, or effectively recommend such action. Group 3: All production and maintenance employees of the Com- pany's No. 1 Plant, Chattanooga, Tennessee, excluding employees eligible to vote in Groups 1 and 2, guards, office, clerical and sales em- ployees, pattern makers, employees of the engineering department, office janitors, cafe man and head bus boy, and all supervisory em- ployees with authority to hire, promote, discharge, discipline, or other- wise effect changes in the status of employees, or effectively recommend such action. QS DIRECTION OF ELECTIONS By virtue of and pursuant to the power vested in the National Labor Relations Board by Section 9 (c) of the National Labor Relations Act, and pursuant to Article III, Section 9, of National Labor Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 2, as amended, it is hereby DIRECTED that, as part of the investigation to ascertain representa- tives for the purposes of collective bargaining with Columbian Iron Works, Chattanooga, Tennessee, separate elections by secret ballot shall be conducted as early as possible, but not later than thirty (30) days from the date of this Direction, under the direction and supervision of the Regional Director for the Tenth Region, acting in this matter as agent for the National Labor Relations Board, and subject to Article III, Sections 10 and 11, of said Rules and Regulations, among the following groups of employees of the Company, who were employed during the pay-roll period immediately preceding the date of this Direction, including employees who did not work during said pay-roll period because they were ill or on vacation or temporarily laid off, and including employees in the armed forces of the United States who present themselves in person at the polls, but excluding any who have since quit or been discharged for cause : (1) To determine whether the employees in the machinists group described in Group 1 of Section IV desire to be represented by Success Lodge No. 56, International Association of Machinists, Chattanooga, Tennessee, or by United Steelworkers of America (C. I. 0.), for the purposes of collective bargaining, or by neither; (2) To determine whether the employees in the foundry and core departments described in Group 2 of Section IV desire to be repre- sented by International Moulders and Foundry Workers Union of North America, affiliated with 'the A. F. of L., or by United Steel- workers of America (C. I. 0.), for the purposes of collective bargain- ing, or by neither; COLUMBIAN IRON WORKS 377 (3) To determine whether or not the employees in the residual group described in Group 3 of Section IV desire to be represented by United Steelworkers of America (C. I. 0.), for the purposes of collective bargaining ; (4) To determine whether or not the employees in the pattern makers unit described in Section IV desire to be represented by Pattern Makers League of North America, affiliated with the A. F. of L., for the pur- poses of collective bargaining. CHAIRMAN MILLIs took no part in the consideration of the above Decision and Direction of Elections.